Rail-joint.



J. A. BODKIN.

ept. 19,1911.

Patented JOHN A. BODKIN, F NEW YORK, N. Y

RAIL-JONT.

incense.

Spec'cation of Letters Patent.

Patented SeptD 19, 1911.

Application filed May G, 1910. Serial No. 559,664.

.To all whom it may concern:

Alle it known that I, JoHN A. BoDKIN, a citizen ot' the United States, residing at New York, county of New York, State of New York, have invented a certain new and useul improvement in Rail-Joints, and declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the saine, such as will enable others skilled in the art towhieh it pertains to make and use the saine, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which torni a partof this specification.

My invention has for its object to provide a simple and etlicient rail joint which shall embody the features of the so-called continuous joint and ot the jointI having a downwardly depending' truss.

A .'lurther object. ot' my invention is to ,produce a `joint of the character specified, the nn-:mheis of which may conw-fniently he rolled and then shaped byv pressure into their :final forms.

'further objectot my invention is to produce :nsimple and novel joint which will rll'eelively support the rail ends at. points under the heath on the upper side of the hase and on the under side of the haser The various features of novelty whereby 'my invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims; but for a full understai'iding of my invention, and ot' its various objects and adranantsl reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

`Figure l is s side elevation of the end of one ot two rails to loe joined together, illustration one of my improved splice bars in positifnuthe other rail end heiner shown in dotted lines; Fig. is a section taken on line 2*-2 o't" Fig. i and llig. 3 is'a section taken on line 53m-3 et Fig. 1.

My ii'z'ij'iroved joint consists of two splice hars which are bolted in place upon two adjacent rail ends in the usual way. Each of these splice bars consists ot an upright member or rirder A which is adapted to lit between the head li and the upper side oit' the hase il ot the rail ends; a laterally projertinfr toot plate D which rests upon the top of the rail hase and is inclined for a portion ol' its width so as to follow the contour ot the rail base and then extends horizontally from a Ipoint (l between the web of the rail and the edge of the base; and a Flange E which extends in part downwardly and in part beneath the base of the rail. In the arrangement shown, the end portions of the flange as at F are bent inwardly so as to form seats upon which the rail ends may rest; while the central portion of the flange v is lett undisturbed and serves as a girder or truss which stiliens the joint at the points where the two rail ends meet. "In order to give a three-point bearing and at the same time permit of ready adjustmentof the splice oars upon the rail ends I so form the parts that. the member D projects some distance beyond the edge of the rail base, thereby providing a olea ance around each edge of the base and permitting a `goed bearing surface to be obtained not only under the head and upon the top of the oase lout- 'also on the underside thereof. To carry these advantages further? l also lpret ir to thicken the inturned portions of the flange throughout the -wliole or part of that pornon thereof vel'hieh lies under the hase ot the rail, such thickened portion being indicated at f. The width of this thickened portion may be varied as desired7 my object being to insure clearance between the splice bar and the base of the rail throughout those portions adjacent to the edge ot the base. By leaving the outer portion of the toot tl-ange clearof the rail base,' a spring ell'ect is produced when the rail base presses down upon the inturned portions ot' the flange.

In manufacturing the splice. hars they are rolled in long sections with the flanges extending at the desired angle to the foot plate, the cross section through the Harige and fot plate ot' each bar being i..-shaped; and these sections are then cut up into the. desired lengths and the lianges are bulldozed so as to turn portions thereof '1nwardly to form the 'hase supporting seats. ln the arrangement shown the tianges are arrangedA at rlght angles to the toot plates; but it will ot course be understood that the angle may be anything desired. llhe thickened portion f, of course extends along the entire tlange when the splice bars are rolled in the manner described and it therefore serves to stiften the truss portions and the webs G which connect the truss portions with the inturned portions. in the preferred arrangen'ientthe n'letal adjacent to the meeting edges of the foot plate and the flange is made thinner than the remainder of the splice bar so as to facilitate the hulldozing tions.

tions of the foot flange It Will be seen that when two rails ends are united by splice bars of the type de-Y scribed there will lalways be a three-point bearing upon each side of each rail end since it is impossible for the splice bars to bind in such a way as top revent a bearing under the head upon the upper side of the base and on the underside of the base. -Furthermore the joint is stiffened at the weak point Where the two rail ends meet.

It will also be seen that the inturned portions of the `flange not only support the rail ends so as to make the joint more secure but they also protect the ties at these points.

While I have illustrated and described in detail only a single preferred form of my invention, I do not desire to be limited to this particular form but intend to cover all constructions and arrangements which fall within the terms employed in the definitions of my 4invention constituting the appended claims. t

What I claimis:

1. A connect-ing plate for a rail joint formed of a rolled member comprising a girder adapted to fit between the base and the head of' a rail and a laterally-extending foot flange adapted to overlie the base of the rail, a portion of said foot flange being bent downwardly to form a truss along one edge of the rail base and adjacent porbeing bent inwardly to underlie and engage with the underside of the rail base, said foot flange having a rib extending along its free edge so as to lform a stifl'ening member along the edge of the truss and rail-supporting members on the portions of the foot flange which are l bent inwardly.

2. AA connecting plate for a rail joint formed of a rolled member comprising a girder adapted to fit between the base and the head of a rail and a laterally-extending foot flange adapted to overlie'the base of the rail, a portion of said foot flange being bent downwardly to form a truss and adjacentportions of the foot flange being bent inwardly to underlie and engage with the underside of the rail base, said foot flange having a rib extending along its free edge so as to form a stiftening member along the edge of the truss and rail-supporting members on the portions of the foot flange which are bent inwardly.

3. A connecting plate for a rail, joint formed of' a rolled member comprising a girder adapted to fit between the base and the headv of a rail and a laterally-extend ing foot flange adapted to overlie the base of' the rail, a portion of said .foot flange being bent downwardly and inwardly to underlie and engage with the under side of the rail base7 the latter portion of said foot flange having a rib projecting upwardly along its free edge to engage with the rail base, said foot flange decreasing gradually in thickness to a point where it extends inwardly under the rail base.

In testimony whereof, I sign this speci fication in the jn'esence of two witnesses. JOHN A. BODKIN. lVitnesses C. C. KIsLnn,

J. V. VVnsoo'rr. 

